Originally Posted by
downhillmaster
I have confidence in my abilities(whatever they may be)so don’t need validation from, or by, riding with strangers. Group riding in general is not that difficult.
I guess I am old fashioned because if I wanted to test myself by riding with the ‘big boys’ I would enter a race and do it for real.
Group rides aren't a chance to seek validation from strangers, not sure where you're getting the idea that this is a primary motivator for group ride participants. For me, it's primarily about socializing and getting a better workout than I would on a normal solo ride. It's also a chance to test my fitness against much faster riders to gauge whether my solo training has helped me at all, because the people I typically ride with on a weekend group ride are the same people I'd be racing against in a local crit. They're also (mostly) all friends, so it's a win/win.
That said, my work schedule and weekend plans have gotten in the way of group riding and I haven't done very many at all this year, which makes me a bit sad and has definitely hurt my fitness.